Tuesday, April 2
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
6 P.M.
vs
San Diego State
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Mustangs Host SDSU for Midweek Series Before Traveling to UCR
4/1/2024 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Cal Poly Baseball program (14-11, 6-3 BW) has a packed schedule with five games in the next six days. The Mustangs start Tuesday with a two-game home stretch against San Diego State before ending with the usual weekend Big West series, this time away at UC Riverside.
The Mustangs have not dropped a series since the beginning of March as they are currently riding a four-series win streak heading into the busy week. Even so, in the tough and ever-changing landscape of Big West baseball, Cal Poly is currently fourth place with a 6-3 conference record.
Allowing just two combined runs in the pair of wins against Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly's pitching staff continues lowering its ERA, now standing at 4.24 and 32nd in Division I. Starting pitchers Jakob Wright and Griffin Naess have combined to give up just 20 earned runs all year, sharing sub-2.80 ERAs.
Wright led the way in the 6-2 opening leg of last weekend's doubleheader, pitching one of his best outings in 2024 and adding six strikeouts while allowing four hits and one run in six complete innings of work. Naess upped that quality start by combining with Tanner Sagouspe for Cal Poly's first one-hitter since 2005, beating the Titans 6-0 and earning himself Big West Pitcher of the Week.
Jake Steels continues to pace all Mustangs with a .426 batting average, good for 25th in the country and 2nd in the Big West while simultaneously leading the conference with 40 hits. Subsequently, eight of nine batters in the typical starting lineup are hitting over .280 from the plate.
For their fantastic seasons thus far, Ryan Stafford, Ryan Fenn, and Jakob Wright have all earned top-150 positional rankings in D1Baseball's mid-season list. Stafford (.330 AVG, 31 H, 7 2B, 19 RBI) leads the pack as the No. 17 catcher in his prospective draft year. He is followed up by Fenn (.330 AVG, 29 H, 8 2B, 17 RBI), who is ranked as the No. 50 second baseman, and Wright (4-2 W/L, 2.63 ERA, 37.2 IP, 44 SO) as the No. 147 starting pitcher.
VS… San Diego State
The Aztecs (8-17, 4-8 MW) will travel to San Luis Obispo for two games of back-to-back midweek non-conference baseball. The Mustangs host San Diego State on Tuesday and Wednesday with both games set to start at 6:00 pm.
SDSU has experienced an up-and-down season, nabbing just five wins in the month of March while recently snapping a seven-game skid in the New Mexico home series last weekend. However, their two victories over the Lobos have given the Aztecs some life being the only series they have won in 2024.
After dropping game one 5-2, SDSU came back in the first game of Friday's doubleheader and winning 8-6 before pulling out all the stops in a seven-inning abbreviated no-hitter on the same day that the Mustangs registered their own one-hitter in Fullerton.
SDSU swept its conference weekly honors this week. The Aztec bats are currently slashing a respectable .260/.383/.334 with leading hitter and reigning Mountain West Hitter of the Week Colby Turner batting .378 with 34 hits and 22 RBIs.
On the defensive end, San Diego State has struggled to keep opponents at bay, pitching at a 6.18 ERA for the moment. The starters are led by Jacob Riordan, who just picked up Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on the back of his no-hitter.
VS… UC Riverside
Following the pair of midweek contests, Cal Poly goes back on the road for another conference series against UC Riverside (9-14, 0-5 BW). The Highlanders, as of today, are still without a win in the conference and are currently experiencing an 8-game skid dating back to March 10.
Despite the hard times, UCR is the second most consistent offense in the Big West with a team batting average of .293 behind first-place UC Irvine. Dominic Martinez (.371), Bubba Rocha (.367), and Cole Koniarsky (.359) are all in-and-around the top-10 conference batting averages.
Where Riverside has struggled, however, is in its pitching and overall defensive output. The Highlanders are last in the Big West by a large margin with a 6.01 team ERA, allowing a .296 opponent batting average.
Since 2011, the Mustangs hold a distinctive advantage in the series, leading 28-9. Despite the large gap in recent years, the all-time series stands a bit closer at 125-89 for the Mustangs. Last season, Cal Poly had little trouble dispatching the Highlanders at home, sweeping the series.
With plenty of time left in the conference slate and not much separating the top-6 teams in the Big West standings, Cal Poly will certainly be searching for more wins to climb the table from fourth.
The Mustangs have not dropped a series since the beginning of March as they are currently riding a four-series win streak heading into the busy week. Even so, in the tough and ever-changing landscape of Big West baseball, Cal Poly is currently fourth place with a 6-3 conference record.
Allowing just two combined runs in the pair of wins against Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly's pitching staff continues lowering its ERA, now standing at 4.24 and 32nd in Division I. Starting pitchers Jakob Wright and Griffin Naess have combined to give up just 20 earned runs all year, sharing sub-2.80 ERAs.
Wright led the way in the 6-2 opening leg of last weekend's doubleheader, pitching one of his best outings in 2024 and adding six strikeouts while allowing four hits and one run in six complete innings of work. Naess upped that quality start by combining with Tanner Sagouspe for Cal Poly's first one-hitter since 2005, beating the Titans 6-0 and earning himself Big West Pitcher of the Week.
Jake Steels continues to pace all Mustangs with a .426 batting average, good for 25th in the country and 2nd in the Big West while simultaneously leading the conference with 40 hits. Subsequently, eight of nine batters in the typical starting lineup are hitting over .280 from the plate.
For their fantastic seasons thus far, Ryan Stafford, Ryan Fenn, and Jakob Wright have all earned top-150 positional rankings in D1Baseball's mid-season list. Stafford (.330 AVG, 31 H, 7 2B, 19 RBI) leads the pack as the No. 17 catcher in his prospective draft year. He is followed up by Fenn (.330 AVG, 29 H, 8 2B, 17 RBI), who is ranked as the No. 50 second baseman, and Wright (4-2 W/L, 2.63 ERA, 37.2 IP, 44 SO) as the No. 147 starting pitcher.
VS… San Diego State
The Aztecs (8-17, 4-8 MW) will travel to San Luis Obispo for two games of back-to-back midweek non-conference baseball. The Mustangs host San Diego State on Tuesday and Wednesday with both games set to start at 6:00 pm.
SDSU has experienced an up-and-down season, nabbing just five wins in the month of March while recently snapping a seven-game skid in the New Mexico home series last weekend. However, their two victories over the Lobos have given the Aztecs some life being the only series they have won in 2024.
After dropping game one 5-2, SDSU came back in the first game of Friday's doubleheader and winning 8-6 before pulling out all the stops in a seven-inning abbreviated no-hitter on the same day that the Mustangs registered their own one-hitter in Fullerton.
SDSU swept its conference weekly honors this week. The Aztec bats are currently slashing a respectable .260/.383/.334 with leading hitter and reigning Mountain West Hitter of the Week Colby Turner batting .378 with 34 hits and 22 RBIs.
On the defensive end, San Diego State has struggled to keep opponents at bay, pitching at a 6.18 ERA for the moment. The starters are led by Jacob Riordan, who just picked up Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on the back of his no-hitter.
VS… UC Riverside
Following the pair of midweek contests, Cal Poly goes back on the road for another conference series against UC Riverside (9-14, 0-5 BW). The Highlanders, as of today, are still without a win in the conference and are currently experiencing an 8-game skid dating back to March 10.
Despite the hard times, UCR is the second most consistent offense in the Big West with a team batting average of .293 behind first-place UC Irvine. Dominic Martinez (.371), Bubba Rocha (.367), and Cole Koniarsky (.359) are all in-and-around the top-10 conference batting averages.
Where Riverside has struggled, however, is in its pitching and overall defensive output. The Highlanders are last in the Big West by a large margin with a 6.01 team ERA, allowing a .296 opponent batting average.
Since 2011, the Mustangs hold a distinctive advantage in the series, leading 28-9. Despite the large gap in recent years, the all-time series stands a bit closer at 125-89 for the Mustangs. Last season, Cal Poly had little trouble dispatching the Highlanders at home, sweeping the series.
With plenty of time left in the conference slate and not much separating the top-6 teams in the Big West standings, Cal Poly will certainly be searching for more wins to climb the table from fourth.
Players Mentioned
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